Toribio Dado-acon

Toribio Dado-acon lives with his wife and their 3 children. Their house was devastated during Typhoon Haiyan (known locally as Typhoon Yolanda) in 2013.

“We were all shocked and confused,” he says. “We didn’t know where to start. Do we clean up the mess first? Or do we start rebuilding our house?”

Shortly after the storm, Build Change came to the Philippines to support the rebuilding effort. Toribio and his family were selected to receive funds from our partner Cordaid in order to rebuild their house with the support of Build Change-trained builders. Toribio was determined to rebuild his home, and helped the builders during construction.

“I carried the construction materials and fetched water to mix the concrete. I have to walk about 300 meters just to bring water up to the house, but this is my house. I wanted to be very involved in the construction.”

Toribio put his time, energy, and care into his new home, and is very happy with how it has turned out. He has plans to paint it, tile the floors, and build some dividing walls between the bedroom and living room. He is not only proud of the work he has put into this house, but is also safe and more secure knowing how the house was built and the strength of the materials in it.

“They explained how important the foundation of a house is,” says Toribio. “My house before the typhoon was made of wood. Now that my house is concrete, I am not afraid of another typhoon. I think it will stay standing if another storm comes.”